The Health Ministry has issued crucial guidelines for preventing the spread of mpox in India after Kerala confirmed its second case.

The samples of the patient, who is undergoing treatment at a private hospital, have been sent for genomic sequencing at the National Institute of Virology in Maharashtra's Pune to ascertain whether it is the deadly Clade 1b strain or the previously known Clade IIb strain.

India has confirmed its first case of a deadlier strain of mpox, which has raised alarm among health officials around the world over the rapid pace of its spread.

India has reported its first case with the new mpox strain that has triggered a public health emergency alert by the World Health Organization (WHO), Reuters reports. Called clade 1b, the new variant is highly-transmissible and has been linked to the mpox outbreak in Africa.

India has reported its first case of the more severe Clade Ib strain of mpox, raising global concerns due to the strain’s rapid spread. The case was detected in a 38-year-old man in Kerala who had traveled from Dubai.

India on Monday reported the first case of Mpox Clade 1 strain in Kerala. This is the same strain the prompted WHO to declare mpox as a public health emergency. Reports suggest that nearly 30,000 suspected mpox cases have been reported in Africa so far this year.

A 38-year-old man from Kerala's Malappuram district is the first case of the fast-spreading clade 1b variety of the mpox virus in South Asia. The man, who is currently stable and under observation, had recently returned to India after travelling to the United Arab Emirates.

India has confirmed its first case of the new, more dangerous strain of mpox known as clade 1b, health authorities said on Tuesday.

There has been a global outbreak of monkeypox in many countries, including India. The viral infection caused by the monkeypox virus can affect anyone, and this new strain is believed to spread more rapidly than other strains.